Nicholas Stoller’s “Townies,” announced last May, will pit Seth Rogen in an against-type role as a suburban family man against Zac Efron in an against-type role as a rowdy frat boy, two casting choices that we find positively titillating. News that Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse had signed on broke last month, upping the ante. And now it seems that another potential frat brother has been cast.
Craig Roberts, who some will recognize from Richard Ayoade’s directorial debut “Submarine,” is currently filming the project according to his talent agent, Curtis Brown. Roberts has also played smaller roles in “Jane Eyre” and the little-seen “Red Lights,” but in “Submarine,” he showed a sensitive and sly comic touch, which might be a nice texture to add in the mix here.
We know that sticking a bunch of funny people in one place isn’t necessarily a recipe for comedy genius, but we still can’t help getting inordinately excited for “Townies.” Even if Stoller’s “The Five Year Engagement” wasn’t a cultural sensation, it was still a fun ride, with plenty of laughs and enough time spent on characterization to give us faith in the man’s instincts. His other credits, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him To The Greek,” largely speak for themselves.
There is no official release date yet, but expect to see this in theaters sometime next year.
